Welcome to the Hog Blog, a blog chronicling minor-league baseball in the Lehigh Valley. Tom Housenick, The Morning Call's IronPigs beat writer, has been at The Morning Call since 2008. In a previous lifetime, he was at Lackawanna County Stadium in Moosic talking with future Phillies Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard, among many others.
He’ll now be spending his summers in search of who the Phillies are hoping to be the next Chase Utley and Cole Hamels plus any outfielder who catch and hit. What he really hopes to find are the next Mariano Rivera, Todd Helton and Jim Thome --- great human beings who happened to be great at this sport.
He spent the last five years covering Colonial League football, college basketball and high school track & field.

For those hoping to get their first look at Jonathan Pettibone Thursday night, you might want to make other plans.

The right hander's Coca-Cola Park debut has been pushed back to Friday to make way for the return of Austin Hyatt, who is now listed as the starter for Thursday's game against Buffalo.

Hyatt, who began the season with the IronPigs before being sent back to Double-A Reading in late May, was promoted Tuesday along with reliever Juan Morrillo. Michael Cisco was returned to Reading to keep the IronPigs roster at 25.

The Phillies sent Hyatt back to Reading after a four-start stretch with the IronPigs over which he allowed 20 earned runs and 27 hits in 19 innings. After a slow start with the R-Phils (a 5.98 ERA over his first 40 2/3 innings), Hyatt won his next four starts, allowing 20 hits and eight earned runs in 25 innings (2.88 ERA) with seven walks and 22 strikeouts.

"I'm anxious to where he's at," IronPigs manager Ryne Sandberg said, adding that according to reports he's heard is that Hyatt has shown "better quality stuff, down in the zone.

"His changeup has gotten better, with better command," Sandberg added. "I'm glad to have him back."

Pettibone has allowed nine hits and five runs in 11 innings so far, but he's also struck out 11 in his first two starts.

"He's had two straight outings with good quality stuff," Sandberg said.

Morillo, who signed with the Phillies last May, missed the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. But the 28-year-old right hander has averaged nearly a strikeout an inning over his minor league career (660 in 701 innings).

This year he struggled with his command over the first half of the season at Reading, walking 41 in 32.1 innings while compiling a 7.24 ERA. But since the All-Star break he's walked just three in 12 innings with 13 strikeouts while allowing nine hits and four earned runs for a 3.00 ERA.

"He's had better control, throwing anywhere from 94 to 98 [MPH}, with a slider," Sandberg said. "Another reason to have him here is to see where he stands, see where he's at, and to evaulate him at this level, and also for him to work with Rod [Nichols, the IronPigs pitching coach] on any fine-tuning he needs. With the type of power pitches that he has and his control being better, he can be effective here."